Boswell man fined for handgun incident in tavern’s men’s room

A Boswell man who was charged with firing a gun in the men’s restroom at Mel’s Restaurant & Bar, Somerset, will have to pay a total of $422 in court costs and a fine.

Anthony E. Shaulis, 32, pleaded guilty Tuesday to disorderly conduct as part of a plea agreement for the March 23 incident. Shaulis entered the plea before Somerset District Judge Arthur K. Cook.

His attorney, James Yelovich of Somerset, said that Shaulis did not discharge the gun that night.

Shaulis and Leonard Tine, who has since died, had been drinking before visiting the bar. Shaulis had a new, loaded handgun in his pants, Yelovich said.

The bartender realized Shaulis had a weapon and asked Tine, a mutual acquaintance, to “take care of it,” bar co-owner Debbie Pletcher said in an earlier interview. She said she had seen the men enter the bar and noticed Shaulis carrying what appeared to be a firearm.

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“Anthony said he showed the gun to Leonard in the men’s room. Leonard took it in his hand and said, ‘Is this a real gun?’ and then he shot it,” Yelovich said.

“Anthony said he almost jumped out of his skin,” he said.

The bullet lodged harmlessly in a restroom wall. Police said the bar was full of people when the incident occurred.

“Anthony has absolutely never been charged with anything before,” Yelovich said. “He did not shoot the gun. He knew enough not to show the gun in the bar but took it into the restroom.”

The attorney said Shaulis had several guns and he had a gun permit.

“We understand his license to carry is in jeopardy,” Yelovich told Cook.

Assistant District Attorney James Jacobs agreed to the plea arrangement after discussing it with the bar’s owners and the borough police. The only witness to the shooting, Tine, died Saturday when he wrecked his motorcycle while speeding around a curve on Berlin Plank Road in Somerset Township.

Shaulis never told police he shot the gun. He just asked for his gun back, according to police.

“What am I going to do?” Jacobs said. “The eyewitness is dead.”

He asked Cook to impose a significant fine.

“This represents the maximum stupidity and should have the maximum fine,” he said.

Cook followed Jacobs’ recommendation and fined Shaulis $300 for the incident.

He initially was charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, a third-degree felony, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. A portable breath test revealed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.211 percent at the time, according to police.

As a condition of the plea agreement, Shaulis is not allowed on the premises at Mel’s.